With the launch of the Sandlord Season, Torchlight Infinite introduces a powerful new version of Thea: Blasphemer Thea. After testing this hero extensively on the PTR, I found her campaign performance to be both efficient and smooth, with a typical completion time of around 90 minutes, no speedrunning tech required.
Thanks to strong early skills, synergistic hero traits, and targeted legendary drops from Treasure Troves, Thea 3 offers a straightforward and reliable leveling experience that doesn’t rely on rare gear or advanced mechanics. In this guide, I’ll walk you through everything you need to know to make the most of her potential, from skills and talents to gear priorities and a full campaign leveling route.
Campaign Guide for Blasphemer Thea3 Sandlord Season
Blasphemer Thea specializes in Erosion-based Damage over Time (DoT). Her unique mechanic, Desecration, significantly increases the Erosion damage enemies take, and her hero traits automatically apply this debuff during combat.
Notably, Thea 3 requires very little micromanagement. Her playstyle allows for high mobility, with most damage coming from persistent AoE effects that continue dealing damage even as you move between enemies. This makes her exceptional for campaign progression, especially in solo play.
Core Skill: Haunting Abomination
Haunting Abomination is your bread-and-butter from start to finish. How it works is you throw it out, it sticks to enemies and creates a pulsing damage zone. If the enemy dies, the pulse stays on the ground and keeps growing. Early on, you can only have one out at a time, so recasting it will replace the previous one. The beauty of it? You can cast it while moving. That means less downtime and more zooming.
It’s super efficient for leveling since you don’t have to stop and wait for enemies to die, just cast and go. Don’t worry too much about resetting Troves to farm, Abomination helps you fly through zones fast enough that it’s rarely needed.
Recommended Skill Links & Final Skill Setup:
- Haunting Abomination
- Passivation
- Increased Area
- Spell Concentration (late campaign)
Additional support skills include:
- Blink with Quick Mobility – for traversal and repositioning
- Compound Source with Auto-Charge – for energy recovery
- Shadow Shot with Grudge – for single-target burst in early game
- Corruption with Terrain of Malice – to boost DoT output
Hero Trait: Desecration & Unholy Baptism
Blasphemer’s kit revolves around stacking Desecration, which is basically a big Erosion damage amp. Here’s how it works:
Desecration (First Hero Trait)
- You get a Divine Blessing every 2s in this order: Focus → Agility → Tenacity.
- Normally, you’d want more Blessings, but Blasphemer flips that. Any gear that gives Max Blessing Stacks instead reduces them and increases Max Desecration Stacks (up to 4).
- When you trigger your trait (automatically every 0.3s), it inflicts 1/3 of Max Desecration on the highest rarity enemy nearby.
- Each stack = +15% additional Erosion damage taken (multiplicative!). Up to 3 stacks. That’s a lot of extra damage.
The Hero Trait skill automatically applies Desecration without needing to be cast manually. Maximize your Max Blessing Stacks (through gear and talents) to convert into Max Desecration Stacks.
Unholy Baptism (Second Hero Trait)
- +20% additional Erosion damage
- Desecrated enemies cause nearby enemies to explode on death
This greatly enhances clear speed and is unlocked after defeating the Lion King story boss.
Target Gear from Treasure Troves (Final Gear by End of Campaign)
Legendary items are plentiful and targeted thanks to Treasure Troves scattered throughout the campaign. These offer consistent rewards and should be prioritized for specific slots.
| Trove | Items |
|---|---|
| Trove #2 | Grace Boots, Desire of Survival (belt) |
| Trove #3 | 2x Scepter of Excommunication |
| Trove #4 | 2x Unholy Prayer |
| Trove #5 | Corrupted Marrow (helmet) |
| Trove #6 | Gauze of Phantom Sin |
Additional important gear:
- Ownerless (necklace) – Drops from a Chapter 2 boss
- Crafted Gloves – Fill with resistances or spell damage modifiers
No farming is needed outside of these Troves. You’ll be fully geared by the end of the story using this method.
Talent Tree Progression
1. Goddess of Deception (Primus) – First 25 Points
This tree provides early access to Deterioration scaling, movement speed, area of effect, and crucial modifiers like:
- Mixture: Adds 50% chance to apply Deterioration
- Deceiver’s Might: Increases max Blessing stacks (and thus Desecration uptime)
2. Shadowmaster (Secondary) – Next 32 Points
Unlocked after the first 30 points, this tree synergizes perfectly with Erosion DoT builds:
- Twisted Belief and Dirt offer substantial bonuses to Deterioration chance and Erosion damage
- Additional buffs to spell radius, DoT duration, and mana regen
Combined, these trees allow for smooth scaling of damage and utility throughout the campaign.
Sandlord Season Mechanic: Oasis and Dirty Water (DO NOT SKIP)
While zipping through zones, you’ll come across Sand Coins and resources like Dirty Water and Rye Grain. These fuel your Sandlord Town, which gives bonuses and unlocks long-term progression.
Hit the Landing Pads when you see them, they spawn mobs, drop loot, and sometimes even NPC workers you can assign later. Don’t stress too hard about town min-maxing while leveling, but interact with stuff when it’s nearby. It all adds up.
Benefits of Engaging with the Mechanic:
- Access to Dirty Water and Rye Grain used for Oasis progression
- Occasional drops of worker NPCs
- Chance to unlock rare gear, belts, or accessories with Blessing modifiers
Once the Oasis base is unlocked (after Act 1), begin 40-minute trade missions as early as possible. Even though the early rewards are modest, they support your leveling and provide small but consistent upgrades.
Tip: If you go to the seasonal island by accident, just hit the big portal on the west side of town to get back on track.
Step-by-Step Leveling Flow
Here’s your path through the campaign with callouts on what to grab and when:
- Start with Haunting Abomination
- Kill first boss → Equip Blink
- Second boss → Add Passivation
- Open slot → Add Shadow Shot
- After cannon boss → Add Ground Divide
- First Trove = skip farming, nothing juicy
- After Dwarf King → Unlock Pacts and Boons
- Add Auto-Charge once available
- Talk to Liv → Hero Trait unlocks automatically
- Trove #2 = Get Grace Boots + Desire of Survival
- Back in town → Check Sandlord island (optional)
- Open Curse slot → Add Corruption
- Level 21 → Add Increased Area to Abomination
- Trove #3 = Farm Scepter of Excommunication x2
- Level 33 → Equip Corrosion Imbue, add Quick Mobility to Blink
- Trove #4 = Farm Unholy Prayer x2, defeat zone boss for Ownerless
- Add Grudge to Shadow Shot
- Trove #5 = Get Corrupted Marrow
- Kill Lion King → Unlock Unholy Baptism
- Final Trove = Grab Gauze of Phantom Sin
Optional: Add Spell Concentration to Haunting Abomination for the final stretch.
Wrap-Up
Blasphemer Thea is easily one of the smoothest, most beginner-friendly heroes to level in the Sandlord Season of Torchlight Infinite. With strong base damage, low-maintenance playstyle, and a tight synergy between her hero traits and core skills, she makes campaign progression feel effortless. You don’t need high-end gear, advanced mechanics, or fancy resets, just follow the plan, scoop up your Trove rewards, and keep moving forward.
